How the Hell are These Crazy Continuous Lifts Still a Thing?

I religiously maintain a list of ‘dangerous machinery that wants to eat my limbs’, and having watched this video, Paternoster lifts — that is, lifts with continuously moving carriages that you jump in and out of — just went straight to the top.

YouTuber Tom Scott took a trip to the University of Sheffield, an institution that has too many living students, a problem it is trying to solve with this 20-storey mechanical deathtrap.

A Paternoster lift has a loads of continuously moving carriages, which ride all the way up a building, over the top, and then back down. Passengers are meant to hop on and off in the second when the lift lines up with the door; unless, you’re disabled, or carrying things, or trip, in which case you get squished by this horrific slow-motion guillotine.

I guess from some perspective, it’s a fabulous piece of engineering, and probably a surprisingly efficient solution for moving people up and down. But on the other hand, OH HELL NO. [YouTube]